To promote soccer in India, LS speaker Sumitra Mahajan to hand out footballs to MPs

The government on Tuesday said it was making all efforts to promote football in the country, and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan will hand out footballs to all parliamentarians on Wednesday as part of the endeavour.

“The government is making all-out efforts to promote football. The Lok Sabha Speaker will distribute footballs to parliamentarians tomorrow (Wednesday) to popularise the sport. The MPs will in turn promote the sport in their respective constituencies,” Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel told the media after a BJP parliamentary party meeting.

The FIFA Under-17 World Cup will kick off in India on October 6. The Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata in West Bengal will host its final on October 28. The two semi-finals will be held in Guwahati and Navi Mumbai.

Goa will host Group C and two round-of-16 matches and one quarter-final, while Kochi will shelter Group D, one round-of-16 tie and a quarter-final. Group E matches will be in Guwahati with one-round-of 16 tie, one quarter-final and one semi clash. Group A will be played in Navi Mumbai while Group B will be hosted by New Delhi. Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium will have one round-of-16 tie and one semi-final and Delhi will have two round-of-16 matches.

A 21-member-FIFA and Local Organising Committee visited the Salt Lake stadium to assess the preparedness.